You just knew that, despite that charming smile, Mimi Eberhardt was gritting her teeth through Sunday's tribute to her at the Stockton Golf and Country Club.

Or, as Mary Elizabeth Eberhardt-Sandstrom, the eldest of her four daughters, said, "This is my mother's worst nightmare."

A straitjacket and/or heavy medication would normally be needed to get her to such an event, Eberhardt-Sandstrom said, but being honored was the one condition Stockton Beautiful president Jeff Gamboni set when Eberhardt said she wanted to leave the organization's board of directors.

Stockton Beautiful members, who are proud of their city and have planted roses near freeway off-ramps, planted trees, encouraged homeowners to spruce up their yards and installed a $300,000 rose garden on the north side of The Haggin Museum in Victory Park, insisted on sending Eberhardt out in style.

The group spread the word they were honoring Eberhardt, and 200 people saved the date.

Eberhardt is renowned for marshalling "volunteers" for her causes. She's the E.F. Hutton of Stockton. Maybe even better. When she speaks, people not only listen, but jump on board with her.

That's not to say the room full of long-time, if not lifetime, Stocktonians showed up out of instinct.

They were there to honor their friend, a woman who makes everyone in the room feel special, who coaxed time or effort or money out of her friends, because they knew she wasn't asking for anything she wasn't willing to give or do herself.

The emphasis is on the Do.

Eberhardt is a Doer, with the capital D. As Gamboni said, listing her causes was impossible because of time constraints, but 20 years devoted to making Stockton beautiful was squeezed in between equal devotion to the Community Center for the Blind; University of the Pacific, as a regent and honorary chair of the recent $300 million "Investing in Excellence" campaign; The Haggin Museum's Junior Women's Group; and the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Foundation, among others.

Born and raised in San Francisco, she came to Stockton with her late husband, Bob Eberhardt. Never did she act the stereotypical role of the bank president's wife. Mrs. Drysdale of "The Beverly Hillbillies," dressed in mink and pearls and looking down her nose at everyone else, she was not.

Eberhardt never saw her adopted home as some backwater hick town, and she was more comfortable in waders and a parka, good for duck hunting or fishing, than furs and jewels.

She raised four daughters, and not only considered life from their perspective - donating to Pacific's women's athletics programs, for example - but taught them and their friends about giving back to the community.

Master of Ceremonies Rod Bovee, a college friend of Eberhardt-Sandstrom, told of being invited to fundraising events at the Eberhardt home. Granted, it was to help break down tables and chairs after the dinners, but he always was fed, always was sent home with leftovers and came away with lessons about becoming a valuable part of one's community.

Eberhardt's value to the community includes being a founding member of the Haggin's Junior Women's Group, which coordinated events in the museum that broadened the grand old building's appeal to the community. At the first of those events, in 1960, she insisted that Champagne be served. Then-museum director Earl Rowland was determined to keep the museum an alcohol-free zone. Eberhardt went to the museum's board, and wine was served. It continued to be served at successive Junior Women's Group events.

"In 1963, Earl Rowland was forced into retirement," current museum direct Tod Ruhstaller told the crowd. "The moral of the story is, 'Don't mess with Mimi.' "

Others asked to speak on Sunday were torn between roasting and toasting. Long-time friend Judy Chambers weighed her options and decided "saying anything negative about Mimi is like attacking Betty White."

Chambers did tell her friend that it was great "to hear how fabulous you are while you're still alive."

Speaking of her accomplishments moved the Blind Center's Joni Bauer to tears as she offered adjectives from A to Z and referred to Eberhardt as the beacon of the light in the organization's logo.

Eberhardt-Sandstrom was comfortable in sharing stories that prove her mom is not perfect. Her attempt to take up skiing with the rest of the family resulted in Eberhardt cracking her tail bone, and she has no green thumb. She loves beautiful gardens, but can't grow one on her own.

Eberhardt will continue to help make Stockton beautiful as a member of the organization. She just doesn't want to attend those monthly meetings.

In thanks for 20 years of doing so, Stockton Beautiful presented Eberhardt with a rose bush that was a particular favorite of the late Gerry Dunlap, Eberhardt's friend and the co-founder of the nonprofit group.

"Don't give her a plant to take home," Eberhardt-Sandstrom shouted.

It was just the right light, humorous touch that Eberhardt could appreciate in a day meant to honor her.

The Toyon School's Walk/Run to end cancer on Saturday was a huge success. With spring-like weather in Valley Springs, it drew 40 students who participated or volunteered, 12 Toyon staff members and 285 runners/walkers who finished the race. Most importantly, $6,845 was raised for the American Cancer Society.